STRASBOURG, France, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A complaint against Italy for expelling Palestinian migrants in 2005 has been dismissed, the European Court of Human Rights said.
The court indicated it struck down the complaint for several reasons, including a suspicion that some of the 84 applicants had been "invented" by Italian lawyers, Italy's ANSA news agency reported Wednesday.
Christopher Hein, director of the Italian Refugee Council, said the court made no comment on the legality or the legitimacy of the expulsions but struck down the complaint on formal matters.
"Italy was not found guilty but neither was it acquitted over its mass deportation actions of 2005," said Hein.
The complaint accused the Italian government of sending Palestinian migrants who traveled by boat from Libya to Italy back to Libya.
It said Italy breached several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights in its treatment of the Palestinians.
